Me(n)tal Shards
by TheGrammarQueen
Summary: AU. Levy is a simple bookworm, living a simple life. A menace known as Kurogane is stalking the streets of Magnolia. He seems slightly familiar, but hopefully she'll never run into him... right? T for swearing. I don't own the awesome cover image.


**Hello, minna.**

**I'm tired. I'm sorry that I haven't been posting a lot, but school is… well, school.**

**I don't own Fairy Tail.**

**But now is the time to write/read!**

Levy was on the grass in Magnolia Park. She hadn't had time to change out of her ballet leotard, so she just plopped an orange skirt over it. She also hadn't had time to stretch, as she had a very important meeting, so that's what she was doing now. Right as she was doing the Hurdler, her phone rang.

"Hello, Levy-chan!"

"Oh, hi, Lu-chan. What's up?"

"Have you heard about that Kurogane guy?"

"Yeah… what about him?" Everyone had heard about Kurogane. He was a murderer/thief/rapist, who had recently surfaced. It technically wasn't safe for Levy to be out all alone like she was now, but she knew that he would gain nothing by hurting her. Seriously, she was weak and didn't carry a lot of money on her person.

"Well… just be careful, OK?"  
"Sure, Lu-chan. Oh look, a kitty! Hmm… I think's it's lost. Gotta go!" And with that, Levy hung up, and walked over to the cat. It meowed. She bent down to scratch it. The collar jingled, and the cat sniffed her hand. Its eyes widened. It started rubbing her, and became very demanding. "Whoa, slow down!" Levy exclaimed. She looked at its collar. PANTHERLILY.

Hmm… Pantherlily. Where had she –

Levy gasped.

"_Oi, shrimp. Look what I got."_

"_Ooh, a kitten! Let me see!" _

"_No need to be so grabby, he might get traumatized…"_

"_Oh, shut up. I'm just looking. What's his name?"_

"_I dunno. What should it be?"_

"_PANTHERLILY!" The voice came out of nowhere. They looked down in shock. The baby black cat was squirming in her arms. "Pantherlily! Pantherlily!"_

"_Holy shit…"_

"_The cat can talk!" Levy exclaimed._

"_Well, then, I guess his name's Pantherlily." The boy said, with a chuckle._

"Lily… Oh my God, Lily!" Levy bent down even closer, and said. "It's OK. I know you can talk. No one else is around." And with that, she picked Lily up, and brought him over with her to the bench.

"OK, spill it. Where have you two been for the last nine years?"

Pantherlily looked around, then spoke. "You may have heard of our – or his – actions. He's going by a pseudonym."

Levy was lost in thought. "What does he look like now?"

"He still swears a lot, and is rather vulgar. But he's really tall, has more piercings –"

"Don't remind me of those things. He got an infection in them once. I had to clean his eyebrows for three weeks straight."

"Anyways, he's even stronger now. His sense of smell is much better, too. Which reminds me," He said, "You shouldn't be here when he finds me."

"Why?"

"Levy, he won't remember you. He's buried all of the good memories that he's had. Especially with you." Pantherlily finished quietly.

"Oh. That's depressing."

"Yes, it is. But you should go. Seriously. I don't want you getting hurt."

Levy trusted Lily, so she went to pack up her things. However, neither of them knew that there was another in the park, concealed very well….

"What the hell is she doin' with my cat?" Kurogane muttered to himself. "What the… no way. Lily and I made a pact that we wouldn't talk. Not even with the gang."

He only knew one person – _AH! _Kurogane's brain started burning.

A girl. Blue hair. Laughing. Falling. A sense of self-hatred. Then, suddenly, his memory was gone. Which was just fine with him. He didn't like his head feeling like it was going to blow up.

But _this_ blue-haired girl… She was a perfect target. Weak, scrawny, nothing _fun_, but still. He was getting itchy. He would only have one shot at this. And with that thought, he jumped out of the tree.

"GIHIHI!" He screamed. The girl looked back, and her eyes widened. She started running. He caught up to her in no time. "What, you thought you could outrun me?" He sneered.

"Let – me – GO!" She squealed. Her tiny limbs kicked and punched at him, but he simply lifted her off the ground.

"Now, it's time to have some fun." Kurogane's grin was extremely lecherous.

"LILY!" She screamed.

"Eh? How do you know my cat's name?"

"Did you ever get a good glimpse of my face?"

"Yes, shrimp."

Oddly, the girl smiled. "Heh. What about a scent?"

"Why the hell would I need your scent?"

"Because, Ga- oh. Yes. Pantherlily said you wouldn't remember me." She murmured, in a quiet voice.

"G – Kurogane. Put her down." Lily had come up behind Levy.

"Why?"

"Just try to remember."

Normally, Kurogane would have said no. But the look that his cat was giving him… "Damn you Lily. Fine."

He sniffed the girl's armpit. She wrinkled up her nose. That scent… No way. No fucking way. Suddenly, memories burst to the surface, like dolphins leaping from the water.

"Shrimp?" He asked.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

"…Gajeel. Do you remember anything?" She replied softly.

He put her down. Lily still put himself between them, just in case.

"Yeah… I remember everything."

_It was a cold, snowy night. He was out for a walk, when he heard whimpering noises. He went to the source, just to see what it was. There was a girl. Her clothes were torn and ripped, and she was curled into a ball. Blood leaked out from her body, and stained the surrounding snow red._

"_Oi."_

_She looked up, and slightly recoiled. "W-who are you? W-what do you w-want?"_

_The boy didn't respond, merely picking her up, bridal style, and taking her off. "Where are you taking me?" She demanded furiously.  
"Enough with the damn questions, OK?" He spat. "I'm takin' ya back to my place. We'll bandage you up there."_

"_You and who?"_

"_My dad. Metalicana."_

"_Metalicana?" The girl asked. "The blacksmith?"_

"_Yeah. How do you know him?"_

"_My parents used to take me to the shop. I'm wearing one of his necklaces…"_

_She dug around underneath her tattered shirt, and pulled out a chain with a metal book pendant on the end. It was his dad's, all right – he could see the etched-in signature._

"_S-so, wh-what's your name?"_

"_Goreel."_

"_No, it's not. Gajeel, right?"_

"_How'd ya know?"_

"_I think I've seen you around the shop before. Mine's Levy. Levy McGarden." And after saying that, she passed out. They were almost to the house, anyways. When he took her inside, Metalicana was pounding on a sword. "Hello, Gajeel. Could you – Who is that?"_

"_Just some girl I found on the street. Could ya bandage her up?"_

"_Oh, that's the McGarden girl. Sure. Her parents died two days ago, so I guess she'll have to stay with us for a while."_

"_OK."_

"_Go get the bandages and first-aid kit."_

_Gajeel went to get the stuff to help Levy, and when he came back, Metalicana was gently removing Levy's tattered clothes on the table. Even though he was only ten, Gajeel still blushed. "Pervert." He muttered. His father completely ignored him and asked for the bandages and kit. Gajeel didn't know what to do then, so he just stood there. After a couple more minutes, his dad told him "Go get Miss McGarden a t-shirt."_

_Gajeel ran to his bedroom, and got Levy a t-shirt. It was big enough that it would be a dress on her. He walked back, and gave it to Metalicana. He tugged it over Levy. She was still out cold. "H-hey… is she gonna be OK?"_

_Metalicana glanced down knowingly. "Hopefully. She's injured pretty badly. We can't risk moving her to the hospital yet. It's her fight now," He then tilted his head. "Why are you so worried?"_

"_Oi! It's just 'cause… 'cause I don't wanna see her die! Just like mom." He added quietly._

_Metalicana lowered his head. "I can understand that. OK, I'm going to work on a sword. Go to bed."_

"_But-"_

"**Gajeel."**

"_Fine." He muttered. Gajeel then left and walked to his bed. He couldn't stop thinking about the girl, though. Why did he have an urge to protect her? It was making him unsettled. He didn't like being unsettled._

_After some tossing and turning, Gajeel drifted off to Dreamland._

**End of Chapter 1! This is going to be a two-shot, by the way. And yes, I know that I should be working on my other stories… but this one is just so fun to write!**

**Well, bye!**

**~ TGQ**


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